LitHubAZ
Effective Literacy Practices

Literacy Standards

The following indicators outline the developmental benchmarks and literacy behaviors that most children display at a particular age/grade. All are aligned with guidelines and standards established by the Arizona Department of Education. Seen together, they show the progression of development over time, but it is important to remember that all children develop at a different pace and follow varied patterns of development.

For very young children, key components of language and communication development include modeling conversations, book handling, and picture/story comprehension. For preschool and K-3 students, indicators of developing language and emergent literacy provide a clear overview of the learning goals to be achieved by the end of each year. Across the higher grades, indicators may have similar wording, but they are to be applied with increased focus to progressively more challenging texts and tasks.



Reading Standards for Literature

  • Independently and proficiently read grade-appropriate and increasingly complex literature from a variety of genres.
  • Analyze how key details build the central idea or theme of a text.
  • Write summaries of text distinct from personal opinions and judgments.
  • Analyze elements of literature, including an author’s use of figurative language and how a specific part of a text contributes to its structure.
  • Cite textual evidence to support analysis and inferences.
  • Compare and contrast how texts from different genres address similar themes or topics.
  • Analyze characters, setting, plot, and theme in literary work.

Reading Standards for Informational Text

  • Read and analyze grade appropriate informational and nonfiction texts.
  • Cite textual evidence to support analysis and inferences.
  • Write summaries of text distinct from personal opinions and judgments.
  • Integrate information gained from a variety of texts to determine different points of view.
  • Analyze how details build the central idea and purpose of a text.
  • Determine ideas that are and are not supported by evidence.
  • Make accurate inferences based on cited evidence found in a text.

Writing Standards

  • Write argumentative and explanatory pieces that include evidence to support ideas, linking words, precise vocabulary and a conclusion.
  • Maintain a formal style in argumentative and explanatory writing.
  • Write narratives that include a clear sequence of events, descriptive details, dialogue, and words that indicate a change in time.
  • Conduct short research projects to build knowledge through investigation.
  • Plan, draft, revise, and edit to produce clear and coherent writing.
  • Demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to complete a writing task.

Speaking and Listening Standards

  • Engage in collaborative discussions by using effective and appropriate speaking and listening skills and following specific discussion guidelines.
  • Prepare and participate in discussions by reading/researching the texts under discussion.
  • Orally present claims and findings, sequencing ideas and evidence logically with appropriate descriptions, facts, and details.
  • Interpret information presented orally in diverse media formats, and decipher claims that are supported by evidence from claims that are not.
  • Report on a topic or text, sequencing ideas logically, using relevant facts and details, and including multimedia components.

Language Standards

  • Demonstrate mastery of grade level conventions (grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling).
  • Construct paragraphs that include an introduction of the topic, supporting details, and conclusion.
  • Use knowledge of Greek and Latin prefixes, suffixes, and roots to determine the meaning of unknown words.  
  • Determine the meaning of unknown words using root words, prefixes, suffixes, context clues, and dictionaries.
  • Apply their knowledge of figurative language and word relationships to determine nuances in word meaning for sixth-grade vocabulary.

Source: Arizona Department of Education, Arizona English Language Arts Standards

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